Valve Beta Unlocks HDR Streaming on Steam Deck OLED, Adds AV1 Codec Option

Valve dropped a Steam Client Beta on July 29 that—for the first time—lets you stream HDR games from a gaming PC to the Steam Deck OLED without washing out the color and brightness. The same update, first reported by Phoronix, also plants the seeds for AV1 video streaming on all Steam Decks, though you’ll need to jump into an experimental client to test it.

What the Beta Delivers

Two distinct features landed in the beta channel, both aimed squarely at Remote Play. They’re separate changes that happen to share a build, and neither is ready for the stable release yet.

HDR Remote Play on Steam Deck OLED
The bigger news is HDR game streaming. The Steam Deck OLED, with its HDR-supporting screen, can now accept an HDR signal from a host PC. Before this, if you launched an HDR-capable game on your beefy desktop and streamed it to the Deck OLED, the client would tone-map that ultra-vivid image down to standard dynamic range. Subtle highlights, richer shadows—gone. Now, with the beta client installed on the Deck, the stream preserves the full HDR metadata, assuming the host, the game, and the network can all pass it through.

Valve has been explicit: this is for the OLED model only. The original LCD Steam Deck lacks the panel hardware to display HDR, so no amount of software will conjure those specular highlights. The feature works when you’re streaming from a Windows or Linux gaming PC that’s running a game in HDR mode, with an HDR display or headless HDMI dongle that reports HDR capability. On the Deck side, you just update to the beta client and start a Remote Play session as usual—if everything lines up, you’ll see the richer image.

AV1 Streaming via SteamRT3
The beta also sneaks in AV1 video streaming for Remote Play, but it’s locked behind Valve’s experimental Steam Runtime 3 (SteamRT3) client. AV1 is an open, royalty-free video codec that delivers noticeably better picture quality than H.264 at the same bitrate—or equal quality at a much lower bitrate. For Remote Play, that could mean sharper streams on spotty Wi-Fi or less compression artifacts when you’re pushing 4K from your desktop to the Deck’s 800p screen.

SteamRT3 is Valve’s next-generation Linux container runtime, designed to improve compatibility and performance. The AV1 capability is tied to this runtime, not the standard Steam client, so you’ll have to opt into that separate testing branch on the Deck. The Deck’s custom AMD APU can decode AV1 in hardware, so playback should be efficient, but encoding on the host side requires a GPU with an AV1 encoder—think NVIDIA RTX 40 series, AMD Radeon RX 7000 series, or Intel Arc. Valve hasn’t spelled out host requirements yet, but here’s a quick look at which GPUs support hardware AV1 encoding:

Who Benefits Most from These Changes

Steam Deck OLED owners who stream from a gaming PC
If you have an OLED Deck and a gaming rig powerful enough to run games in HDR, this beta is your ticket to marrying the two. Instead of playing Elden Ring’s Erdtree with muted golden glows, you’ll see the full luminosity, just as the developers intended. The catch is that every link in the chain must support HDR: the game must output it, the host GPU and monitor must handle it, and the stream settings must not downconvert. Expect some trial and error.

Any Steam Deck owner curious about AV1
AV1 could be a silent quality-of-life upgrade for Remote Play, especially if your home network gets congested. By halving the bandwidth required for a given visual quality, it might let you stream flawlessly where H.264 would stutter. But because it’s confined to the SteamRT3 client, you’re essentially volunteering for a double beta. This isn’t a toggle in the main settings menu; you’ll need to track down and install SteamRT3 on your Deck, then test it with Remote Play. Early adopters who enjoy tinkering will find it fascinating; others should wait.

Windows gaming PC owners who serve as hosts
On the host side, this beta doesn’t demand you switch to the beta channel—though in practice, having the latest Steam update on both ends is wise. If you want to enable AV1 streaming, your GPU must have a hardware encoder for AV1 (see table above). On the HDR front, your gaming rig needs to have an HDR-capable monitor or a dongle that tricks the system into enabling HDR mode, plus a game that actually uses it. The update is client-focused, so the heaviest changes are on the Deck.

The Road to Better Remote Play

Steam Remote Play has been a quiet success for Valve, letting you beam games from a main PC to a laptop, phone, or the Deck. But image quality and latency have always been the trade-offs. HDR support was a glaring omission once the OLED Deck arrived in November 2023. That handheld can play HDR locally, but streamed games remained flat. Meanwhile, AV1 has been creeping into the streaming landscape: YouTube, Netflix, and Discord already use it, and hardware encoders have become common in recent GPUs. Valve’s move mirrors the broader industry shift.

SteamRT3 is a longer-term bet. It’s a more modular, up-to-date runtime that could eventually replace the current Steam Linux runtime, but for now it’s a playground for new features like AV1. By tying AV1 to SteamRT3, Valve can test it aggressively without destabilizing the main Steam client. That’s smart engineering, but it adds friction for users.

How to Test HDR and AV1 Streaming Right Now

If you’re game to try these features, proceed with caution. Beta software can crash, and Remote Play isn’t known for flawless reliability even on stable builds.

Opt into the Steam Client Beta
On your Steam Deck, open Settings > System > Beta Participation. Choose “Steam Beta Update” from the dropdown and let the client restart. If you’re testing on a desktop for host-side changes, do the same in the Steam client there.

Test HDR Streaming
1. Ensure your host PC is running a game that supports HDR and that your monitor or headless dongle is set to HDR mode.
2. On the Deck (OLED only), after updating to the beta, go to Remote Play settings—look for any new HDR options (Valve might add a checkbox). The current beta didn’t mention a toggle, so it may be automatic if the stream is HDR.
3. Start a Remote Play session and compare the image. If HDR isn’t working, double-check the host’s display settings; Windows sometimes requires HDR to be explicitly enabled in the game and system.

Test AV1 Streaming
1. On your Steam Deck, you must install the SteamRT3 client. This likely means switching to the “Steam Runtime 3” beta under a separate entry in your library, or enabling it in compatibility settings for a game. The exact steps weren’t detailed in the beta notes—check Valve’s developer forums or the Steam Community thread.
2. Once SteamRT3 is active, launch a game via Remote Play and look for encoder options. You might need to manually select AV1 in the streaming settings on the host or client.
3. Monitor the stream’s bitrate and quality; AV1 should maintain sharpness at lower bitrates compared to H.264.

Remember: these are early tests. Audio sync, controller input, and stability might suffer. If you rely on Remote Play for daily gaming, hold off for the stable release.

What to Expect Next

Valve rarely keeps beta features in limbo for long. HDR streaming could hit the stable branch within a few weeks, particularly if no major bugs surface. AV1 will likely take longer—SteamRT3 itself must graduate from experimental status first. The Steam Deck’s hardware is more than capable, so the holdup will be software polish and user experience. In the longer run, HDR streaming sets a new standard for handheld game streaming, and AV1 could become the default codec for Remote Play on Valve’s platform. For now, treat this beta as an invitation to peek at the future.